Jeffrey P. Saffold

Professional career

• Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge serving on the General Division bench since January 2023, and in February 2026 joined oversee a docket in the county’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (MHDD) Court
• General Division Judge – Elected in November 2022 to a six‐year term (through January 6, 2029) on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas General Division
• Election: Won the 2022 general election for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas General Division judge, defeating incumbent Mark Majer
• Prior work included Civil and criminal law, trial attorney
• Judge Saffold was raised in Cleveland, OH, and attended Skyline High School
• Early Career: served as a criminal defense attorney before becoming a judge

Education

Additional information

• MHDD Court Appointee – In February 2026, appointed by Presiding Judge Michael P. Shaughnessy to preside over a specific docket in the MHDD Court
• 1996 (Admitted to the Bar).
• Bailiff Mary Coleman
• Staff Attorney Ross DiBello (Staff).
• focusing on defendants with severe mental illness and substance use disorders using a drug court treatment model
• The son of Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold, a long‐time Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court judge, and is part of a notable family of judges in the Cleveland Justice Center